Sunday, December 28, 2014

Prodigy is a fantastic free online Math game that is ideal for Game Based Learning. This super fun highly engaging game designed for grades 1st-6th and is aligned to Common Core Standards. Best of all is the teacher portal which allows for educators to assess students and get instant real-time reporting. Prodigy, even has a unique learning engine which allows the game to differentiate instruction and help students w/ areas they are struggling in. Teachers can modify the game to suit their needs and select which skills their students need to focus on too. Also, Prodigy is browser based and works on any device (i.e iPad or Chromebook).

Teachley is a wonderful company w/ educational iOS apps for learning basic Math skills (i.e. Addimal Adventure and Mt. Multiplis). These simple to use yet highly engaging fun games help students develop their skills while educators can track their progress and assess them in real-time. All games help students build cognitive skills through Game Based Learning not just drill and practice.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

"Otus is an easy-to-use, yet powerful classroom tool that brings the best iPad and Chromebook education features together into one secure environment, and uses a single Google login." I must say after reading this tag line I was quite intrigued to give Otus a look and it IS a complete mobile learning environment for schools. Otus comes in two free iPad apps one for the teacher and one for the student. Keep in mind when downloading it will state that it is a 17+ app and the reason for that is the built in browser. However, a educator can monitor browser activity inside of Otus as well as a school should have a filter in place via their district policy (Although, it is widely recommend to view your students/child's browsing habits to make sure that they are not viewing anything inappropriate). Also, a user (teacher/student) will need a Google account to login.As w/ most Learning Management Systems (LMS) Otus allows educators to create classes, manage attendance/assignments/grades, poll students, and more. They can create digital bookshelves to host all kinds of digital media (i.e. books, videos, sites, etc) and assess students in real-time. The split screen feature allows users to take notes using any feature of Otus as well as taking notes during browsing.I highly recommend checking out Otus by clicking here!!!

RedCritter is a new teacher management app that educators can do to assign awards, assess student behavior/performance, take attendance, generate reports, and much much more. Also, this is a nice and safe communication/notification tool to use w/ parents and students.

Sphero is a programmable toy/robot/sphere that is being used in schools worldwide. This is a super fun and fantastic learning device that lets students program their Sphero on any mobile device. There is even a curriculum called SPRK (Schools Parents Robots Kids) that is dedicated to teaching kids Common Core skills aligned to STEM (i.e. Science/Technology/Math). The Sphero is an easy to use device that can be used to play games, in the water, and in wide array of different ways to integrate into education.

I highly recommend checking out Sphero and how it can be used in education here!!!

Mickey's Magical Math World is a wonderful free iPad app for teaching basic Math concepts to young learners (PreK-KDG). The game is divided up into 5 different worlds that focus on different Math concepts, such as: shapes, counting, addition/subtraction, and more. The games main theme centers around using these concepts to help Mickey build a rocket ship.

I highly recommend checking out Mickey's Magical Math World by clicking here!!!

Friday, December 19, 2014

ProjectWriter is the new platform from BoomWriter for group Writing projects. This is done using the innovative BoomWriter collaborative writing process where students will each write their own story (i.e. paragraph, submission, etc). and then as a group vote on the best one to submit. Best of all using BoomWriter's educational portal, teachers can manage student accounts and monitor and assess all work that has been submitted. Also, educators can use ProjectWriter to develop vocabulary skills by including key words and concepts into their assignments (think WordWriter).

Here are some more features of ProjectWriter...

include key vocabulary terms-to-know for students to utilize in their Writing

boost student engagement and learning

easily assess students' understanding of key unit concepts

flexibility: as an end-of-unit summary project or use alongside they unit as you teach

Buncee Buddies is the new platform for connecting students and classrooms around the world through digital pen pals.

Below is an excerpt from their blog...

"Whether it’s celebrating Hanukkah in Iowa, or Christmas in Hong Kong, classrooms from across the nation and globe will create and share buncees that highlight their individual and community holiday traditions. Using text, audio recordings, videos, photos, stickers, and animations, students from various cities around the world will bring their traditions to life with buncee. Then, through Skype and Flipgrid, each class will share and explain their creations to other classrooms."Below is an example of a finished product...

I highly recommend checking out Buncee Buddies and who is participating by clicking here!!!!

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Moovly is a excellent site for creating custom animations/presentations. This site reminds me a lot of Powtoon, and w/ their educational portal offers a nice solution for classrooms. Moovly can be used to flip a lesson and for Project Based Learning. Also, a finished project can then be embedded into a site or blog.

My Weather Book is a fun iOS app that students are using for word and letter recognition. The way this works is by tracing letters and coloring pictures while learning different vocabulary words about the Weather. As they are learning their words and practicing letters they are selecting pictures and creating their very own coloring book. Upon coloring their digital book a student can bring up drawing/coloring tools that includes a microphone that speaks the highlighted words. This helps students w/ word recognition and build up their vocabulary around Weather.

Monday, December 15, 2014

The Foos: Code for an Hour is a super fun free iOS app that teaches beginning programming concepts to students. It's very similar to Scratch where users connect blocks to form commands. There are 24 levels that students can complete to unlock new characters and abilities. Some of the concepts covered in Foos are: problem solving, sequencing, spatial visualization, and more.

I highly recommend checking out The Foos: Code for an Hour by clicking here!!!

Thursday, December 11, 2014

30hands Pro is the new paid iOS app from 30hands Learning. This is a great purchase as it unlocks all the features in the free 30hands app such as: importing video clips, Dropbox/Google Drive integration, and Hi-Res video exporting.

30hands is the amazingly simple to use app w/ drag-n-drop interface that allows users to sync up photos w/ audio recordings to create stunning presentations. This can be used for digital storytelling, Project Based Learning, or even to "Flip" a lesson. Also, the exporting features allows the video to be saved to the mobile device's camera roll or uploaded to the free 30hand online educational community.

VideoTelling is a site I found out about from Shelly Terrell, that is an interesting new concept for telling stories. This educator uses short stories and viral videos to tell a story and educate students on any given topic.

The project supports these 3 goals...

Planning and using teacher-led videotelling in the classroom

Creating tasks that require students to create their own videotelling texts

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Math w/ Amigos is the brand new game from Yogome that is a blast to play and great for Game Based Learning. This free iOS multiplayer game lets players take on villains w/ other players from around the world in this turn-based RPG/Fighting style game. Students must answer basic Math questions (i.e. addition, subtraction, etc.) correct in order to attack and defeat their enemy. The faster a player answers the question the more points they receive. Also, they can earn currency to buy in game items and unlock other worlds/boards to increase replay value.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

ClassDojo is one of the most popular free "web 2.0" sites on the web for educators. This fantastically simple site to use has teachers all over the world integrating ClassDojo into their classroom to help track and manage student behavior. This is done through a very fun and simple user interface that has educators add a point (for positive or negative behavior) to reinforce appropriate behavior. Also, CD allows educators to generate detailed classroom reports and share them w/ others (educators/parents) via email. Finally, ClassDojo has one of the best resource sharing pages I've seen that allows educators to find out how others are using CD in their class, and print out resources too.

Land of Venn is a fantastic iOS game for practicing Geometry. This is done in a tower defense style game (i.e. Plants vs Zombies) as students try to defend their land Venn from monsters by drawing geometric shapes. This game has tons of replay value as users have over 30 levels to complete as well as earn money to buy spell upgrades and more. This game is ideal for Adaptive and Game Based Learning, as well as aligned to Common Core Standards.

I highly recommend checking out Land of Venn - Geometric Defense by clicking here!!!

For a more detailed review check out Graphite.
For my Pinterest board on Game Based Learning click here.

Monday, December 8, 2014

Super Teacher Worksheets is absolutely one of my favorite sitse for finding worksheets and printables in a wide variety of subjects. Also, this is a great site for finding other educational resources such as: custom puzzle/worksheet/crosswords generators, Smart Board files, and more. Almost every resource at STW is aligned to Common Core Standards and very easy to use.

Friday, December 5, 2014

GoClass is a wonderful new (beta) site/app for flipping a classroom. This is a fantastic solution for educators to be able to manage their classes/students and create dynamic lessons that can be shared on mobile devices. Students can login to a session on their mobile device and then follow the lesson following the "show-explain-ask" method. Teachers can then get instant real-time feedback on student engagement and learning as well as attendance.

BoomWriter has released a fun and step by step activity to for the winter/holiday season. A teacher can download the easy to use lesson plan for WordWriter which uses the innovative BoomWriter collaborative writing process to help students develop vocabulary.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Skaffl is a nice new (free) iPad app that I just found out about from iPad Apps for Schools. This app lets teacher hand out assignments and then collect them. Once an assignment has been "handed" in the teacher can then grade and assess students, as well as annotate and ask questions about their assignment,

The Answer Pad the great student response system and mobile learning tool has just been updated w/ a brand new polished look. This is an excellent site/app that allows educators to turn their classroom paperless and do all testing/assessing on an iPad. Also, educators can use Answer Pad for any subject and easily integrate it into their curriculum. Teachers are using this to differentiate instruction and assess learning in real-time as they push out their lessons on to student's iPads and gauge their learning. W/ tons of templates to choose from (i.e Math, Geography, etc.) an abundance of draw tools, and innovative portfolio feature that lets educators take a snapshot and save any lesson/exercise they have created, making Answer Pad a perfect mobile learning solution.

Also, besides the whole new website redesign new features are on the way such as: new drawing tools, improvements to Go Interactive making it easier for teachers to use, and much much more.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

What Time is it Mr. Wolf? Is the wonderful free iPad app that I just found out about from appydazeblog. This is a simple to use app for kids 3 on up, to learn how to tell time. The way this works is Mr. Wolf spins a clock using the face of the moon as the surface. Students are then challenged to select the correct time from a number of different answers. Best of all are the different settings that can be adjusted for telling time (i.e. half hr, 15 min, etc.).

I highly recommend checking out What Time is it Mr. Wolf by clicking here!!!

DimensionU has just released their innovative Math/Literacy game for the web. This game immerses a student in a 3D world as they compete against other players grades 3rd-9th. They are offering a contest right now from today till the Dec 5th that the player w/ the most points at the end of each day will receive a $25 Amazon gift card.

I highly recommend checking out Meltdown and all DimensionU games by clicking here!!!

PBS is offering a exciting program in 2015 to recognize a 100 educators who use Ed Tech in their classroom.

Below is more info...

"Exciting news for educators – today, PBS LearningMedia announced the
2015 PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators Program. The program
recognizes the top 100 applicants nationwide who are using digital media
in classrooms and serving as leaders in edtech. Beginning today through
February 11, K-12 educators can apply for
the program at pbslearningmedia.org/digitalinnovators.

In addition, the top thirty applicants will be designated as
Lead PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators and will receive an
all-expense paid trip to Philadelphia to participate in the 2015 PBS
LearningMedia Digital Summit and this year’s ISTE conference. Lead PBS
Digital Innovators will also receive a Samsung Galaxy(R)
tablet.

For more information about the program, please see the
press release below."

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

SpellingCity is probably the most robust and popular site around for Vocabulary/Spelling. This is a tool that educators are using in classrooms of all grade levels to help improve student's skills. Best of all educators can find or create their own word lists and then integrate them into over 26 different games. This is a great and fun way to help students practice their Spelling & Vocab skills while learning at the same time. Also, SC has lots of resources for teachers to use as well as a free mobile app (i.e. Kindle, iOS, Amazon) that integrates w/ the site for mobile learning.

Mathtopia is an excellent iOS app for practicing basic Math skills. This game kind of reminds me of Candy Crush but instead of crushing candy you are solving Math equations. Mathtopia is geared towards El Ed learners and is aligned to Common Core Standards.

Monday, December 1, 2014

EDpuzzle the fantastic and simple learning tool to use to flip a lesson or classroom has just released a free Chrome extension for making editing YouTube videos a snap. Just add the extension and click on the button "edit w/ EDpuzzle".

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Puzzlin' Pieces: USA is a new educational iOS app designed for kids 6-8 learning about the Geography of the United States. The drag-n-drop puzzle game is designed in 3 levels helping the student learn about the states and their location by using the weather as a "hot/cold" indicator. As the student progresses they receive fewer clues as their geographical knowledge is put to the test. There is also a timer to measure progress and stars awarded for correct answers.

I highly recommend checking out Puzzlin' Pieces: USA by clicking here!!!
For more info on Puzzlin' check out Edshelf.

Biteslide is a wonderful web tool w/ educational portal that teachers are using to create beautiful looking slidebooks/presentations. This is all done through a very easy to use drag-n-drop interface and web browser plugin (a.k.a "Nibbler") for adding images, clipart, text and more. Educators are using this for Project Based Learning, creating dynamic digital stories/scrapbooks, and even "flipping their classroom. Best of all, the educational portal allows educators to create and monitor student accounts and projects.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Bookopolis is a wonderful site for students to rate and review books in a safe environment. It kind of reminds me of Shelfari but w/ an educational portal for teachers where they can track and review student's work. This a great way to assign book reports, track reading logs, and more.

Chronicle is an unbelievable iPad app that educators are using for a wide variety of purposes to help w/ their best teaching strategies. This is done by "chronicling" each student through Chronicle by a combination of audio/video notes, assessments, grade books, and much much more. Also, Chronicle makes it easy to grade/assess students by color coded tracking, and innovative easy to use grade book, and provides a platform to effectively communicate w/ parents and other educators.

Noteflight is an excellent site w/ educational portal (COPPA compliant) that allows users to create and share music right in their browser. This is an excellent resource for Music teachers looking to teach music notation and create online assignments in a safe environment.

Answerables is the innovative new platform that combines Game Based Learning w/ a Learning Management System to create a fun and safe platform into the virtual/digital world. Answerables reminds me of a Second Life but geared more towards kids and more user friendly. This is a great place for educators to assign digital lessons, and for students to learn through collaborating w/ others in a safe environment. Also, this is a great place for educators to connect w/ others and even offer tutoring to students through this digital environment.

This
set of primary resources provides a window into the history of
Thanksgiving, as well as a Teacher's Guide with historical context and
teaching suggestions.

There
are also more videos, lesson plans and activities tied to the upcoming
holiday season. If you’re working on any holidays articles, please let
me know and we can send you more info on these
(and many more!) from PBS LearningMedia:

FluencyFinder is the amazing mobile (iOS/Android) app that every K-8/parent needs to assess their student's Reading fluency in real-time. Not only does this app support multiple users ideal for class use, it stores data for easy use on multiple devices, as well as allow for Reading comprehension assessment. Best of all, the latest update (v. 3.0) allows users to upload their very own Reading passages that they can use to assess students. This is perfect to fit w/ any curriculum or Reading program.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Storyboard That is one of my favorite new Web 2.0 sites for education. This amazing site w/ educational portal allows educators to create/manage student accounts while creating fun and engaging assignments. Educators around the world are using Storyboard That for project based learning, flipping a classroom, and much much more. Students can easily create a storyboard and then convert it into a slideshow, find writing prompts, character maps, etc etc. Best of all are all the Common Core aligned resources and lesson plans that teachers can look through and use to best figure out how to integrate Storyboard That into their classroom.

Finally, Storyboard That is a great place to create holiday cards. All a user has to do is create a storyboard, save it, and upon printing select the option to print as that holiday (i.e, it only has the most recent holiday). This would be a fantastic way to create Thanksgiving cards.

Kiddle is a new safe search engine for kids. All results are done in large font and thumbnail based images making it easy for kids to read. Best of all, it is filtered to remove any inappropriate content for kids/students.

Buncee is quickly becoming one of the most popular "web 2.0" tools in school and for good reason. W/ their educational portal for student creation, tracking, and more, educators are using it for a variety of educational purposes such as: project based learning, presentations, digital storytelling, etc. Also, this is a great place to find holiday based themes and clip art for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and much much more.

I highly recommend checking out Buncee for Education by clicking here!!!

Friday, November 21, 2014

Well, it's that time of year again for my favorite and most robust list on the top 100 Sites/Apps of the year. As w/ the previous year's list, more and more mobile apps are making the list as mobile learning continues to be the rising trend in education. However, that's not to say that there isn't a good amount of websites and Learning Management Systems showing up as well. Finally, any site/app that was in a previous years list will not be in this one.

* mobile app

Top 100 Sites/Apps of 2014

Been for Education - A innovative site for Social Learning that allows educators to surf and collaborate on the web w/ their students in a safe environment where educators create/manage student accounts.

* Otus - A fantastic and easy to use 1:1 learning solution for mobile classrooms (i.e iPads/Chromebooks). Educators can manage/create student accounts, take attendance, grade, and assess students in real-time, and much much more.

* Pixel Press Floors - An amazing iOS app for Game Based Learning that allows students to create their own game by drawing.

Answerables - A super fun and innovative site that brings Game Based Learning together w/ a Learning Management System to provide a safe environment for students to learn any subject in a 3D virtual world.

* Stick Around - A great iPad app that can be used for Project Based Learning or Flipping a Lesson by creating puzzles/diagrams and having students label them.

WordWriter - Is a new learning tool from the award winning collaborative writing site, BoomWriter. Using BoomWriter's innovative collaborative process, student's can learn and develop their Reading/Writing skills as well as their Vocabulary.

geddit - A fantastic simple to use learning tool where students use their mobile device to answer questions w/ a tap of button in real-time.

Glean - A excellent site for finding educational videos/lesson on Math and Science.

* TowerStorm - An innovative free iOS game that takes place in a 3D virtual world designed for grades 2nd-10th in the subjects of Math and Literacy.

Tackk - A great site w/ educational portal that allows educators to create student accounts where they can create static pages filled w/ dynamic media.

ThingLink - Is a wonderful site/app for students to tag images w/ multimedia content such as: text, audio, or video files.

GoNoodle - My favorite site around for giving students "brain breaks" during class through educational and fun activities/videos.

Gooru - A great place for students to find study guides on a wide range of subjects that are aligned to Common Core Standards and ideal for personalized learning.

Booktrack Classroom - A excellent site/app for adding a soundtrack to student's writing. Also, a nice place to find Common Core aligned lesson plans.

Prodigy - A fantastic free online Math game aligned to Common Core Standards grades 1-6th. Best of all this game differentiates instruction and educators can track student's progress as well as generate detailed reports.

Citelighter - An online Writing platform for K-12 that helps students organize and research for papers and homework. Also, educators can monitor, add assignments, and grade students.

* Plickers - A unique (free) mobile app that acts as a student response system that uses QR codes and mobile devices to answer/respond to questions.

* Math w/ Amigos - Healthy Heroes 1 - Two of my favorite educational iOS game that is ideal for Game Based Learning in the areas of basic Math and Health.

* Chronicle - A unbelievable iPad app for helping teachers w/ their best teaching strategies by "chronicling" each student through, notes, videos, assessments, and much much more.

* Voice Dream - The best text to speech app I have ever seen w/ an abundance of features such as: highlighting, definitions, bookmarking, and more.

* Grid Lines: Ordered Pair Game - One of my favorite iOS apps for Game Based Learning that uses a familiar Battleship style game to practice plotting points on a graph.

RoomRecess - A excellent site for finding free educational games for El Ed students.

* Ask3 - One of my favorite free iPad apps for adding narration to an image to visually explain any topic. This is ideal for creating a flipped classroom.

* GuidedVideo - A wonderful iPad app for Guided Learning where educators create questions w/ images as the answers that students tap on.

Kahoot - Is a fantastic free tool that combines Game Based Learning and a Student Response System to bring a fun and easy to use real-time assessment tool to the classroom.

Edventure Builder - An innovative new site that is perfect for sparking student's creativity by providing an online platform to create: scavenger hunts, interactive stories, or "choose-your-own-adventures".

* Write on Video - A great iPad app for digital storytelling that allows users to upload a video and then annotate, draw, or add images over it.

Photos for Class - The easiest way to find safe Creative Common licensed photos for the classroom that are cited appropriately.

* Magical Mental Math - A super fun iOS game designed for grades 2nd-6th working on their basic Math skills.

* TeleStory - An amazing new iOS app for digital storytelling that lets kids star in their very own TV show.

* Write to Read - A iPad app designed for kids 3-10 yrs old to help develop their Reading and Writing skills by creating a digital book. Also, this app is ideal for introducing digital storytelling and aligned to Common Core Standards.

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David Kapuler

I have been working w/ technology and education for over 14 years in a school setting. I'm looking for work in a K-12 environment as a Technology Integration/Support Specialist in WI/IL. Contact email - dkapuler@gmail.com
I'm currently looking to get my Mac OS/Repair Certification, as well as a Masters in Technology Integration.
Also, I have a solid background in web design, w/ network/server support.
On a personal note, I';m a proud father of 3 boys and 1 girl, and have been married for 10 years.